College Painters

Last year I received a call from the owner of one of these college painting franchises. He was looking for some painters to help bail him out of a tight situation. He had several homes to paint, and couldn’t find qualified painters to perform the work.

I met with him to inspect a house and we talked about his situation. It wasn’t pretty. He was in way over his head and knew it. He had promises to fulfill and lacked the means to do so.

This is not unusual. These franchises provide little training or support in terms of production. They are primarily sales and marketing companies. While there is nothing wrong with that, the lack of production abilities places unsuspecting college students in a very difficult position.

I ultimately proposed a way to help this student with his production issues. Unfortunately for him, it was going to cost him virtually every penny of revenue he would receive. Had he taken my offer, he would have lost a significant amount of money. I never heard from him again.

I have heard some of these franchisees say that it was a good experience for them. I don’t doubt this. However, for the vast majority I suspect it is a very bitter lesson in business—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008